North news briefs: Andover bike-helmet sale, fitting set for June 19

Safe Kids Anoka County is sponsoring a bike helmet sale and fitting from 4 to 7 p.m. next Wednesday, June 19, at the Anoka County Sheriff's Office, 13301 Hanson Blvd. NW in Andover.

The helmets for sale are Bell Tru-Fits, available in all sizes from toddler on up. They're $13 each, first-come, first-served while supplies last.

Helmet fittings are free, and no appointment is necessary.

Coon Rapids will hold a groundbreaking at 2 p.m. today for Autumn Glen Senior Housing, an assisted-living complex, at the former Frank's Nursery site.

The $19 million redevelopment will take about one year, with an anticipated opening in the summer of 2014, the city says. The project received $420,000 in tax-increment financing from the city to assist with site demolition and cleanup.

The complex will be built on the east side of Round Lake Boulevard near Coon Rapids Boulevard.

Sunday night Concerts in the Park began this month in Anoka. The free, hour-long events start at 7 p.m. at George Green Park, 1498 Sixth Av., at the Bicentennial Band Shell in the southwest corner.

Children in the Anoka-Hennepin School District will have access to free meals this summer through the district's Child Nutrition Program and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Summer Food Service Program.

Anoka-Hennepin will offer free meals for all children ages 2 to 18 at 14 locations. Adults may purchase meals with correct cash only. Adult meal prices are $3.50 for lunch or brunch, $2 for breakfast, and $1 for snacks. All meals must be eaten at the site. For more information about locations or the program, call 763-506-1240.

County residents recycled nearly 34,000 tons of materials in 2012, exceeding their goal by 14 percent.

"It's remarkable to look at the recycling totals countywide in 1988, when we were just getting started, and compare it with where we are today," said County Commissioner Jim Kordiak, who chairs the county's Waste Management and Energy Committee. "We've gone from 4,734 tons of recycled materials back then to today's impressive total."

The city of East Bethel received special recognition for having the most improved municipal recycling program in the county, increasing recycling totals from 158.32 pounds per resident in 2011 to 176.61 pounds in 2012

Anthony Marchetti, an adjunct photography instructor at Anoka-Ramsey Community College, is one of four recipients of the 2013-14 McKnight Artist Fellowships for Photographers.

The $25,000 fellowships support midcareer artists who live in Minnesota and "use photography as a primary means of creative, personal expression."

Marchetti, who also is a faculty member at the Art Institutes International Minnesota and an adjunct instructor at the University of Minnesota, says the fellowship will help him with a project that involves extensive travel.

This year's other fellows are Paula McCartney and Mohamud Mumin, both of Minneapolis, and Alec Soth of St. Paul.

China Eubanks, a Blaine High School sophomore, has won the Minneapolis Farmers Market's inaugural reusable bag design contest. She'll receive a $1,000 scholarship from the farmers market and COUNTRY Financial as a grand prize.

The design needed to fit the theme "Sprouts in the City," and include the words "2013 Minneapolis Farmers Market."

Brooklyn Park's annual Tater Daze festival will be held Thursday through Sunday at Noble Sports Park, 4701 Oak Grove Pkwy.

The festival will feature carnival rides, petting zoo, teen bands battle and dance, parade, lots of food and more.

The event pays homage to the potatoes that flourished in the city's flat, sandy soil in years gone by.